The New Princess
by BlueLion20
Summary: The Rose Princess has fallen, the Aristocrat club needs a new Princess, so who will it be?


**The New Princess**

Disclaimer: I do not own Rule of Rose

Rating: K+

Genre: General

Author: Leo500

Summary: Why did the Aristocrat Club all vote for Jennifer to be the new Princess of the Aristocrat Club?

**Author's Note: Warning, characters might very well be OOC in this! **

**The New Princess:**

The three Red Crayon Aristocrats sat down, facing each other, each of them with their own calm, yet amused expressions. Meg regarded the other two, her countenance polite and calm, though everyone at the orphanage knew that that was a mask. Eleanor was cold as usual, though a little humored and Diana was just smirking arrogantly. They had a lot to think about. Wendy was gone now. Who was going to be their new princess?

Wendy always thought of everything. She came up with the games, she had all the plans and the most complicated of strategies. Wendy wasn't just a princess, she was a brilliant princess. Even though she was only eight years old and had used the fear of the newly discovered non-existent "Stray Dog," against them, especially Diana, Wendy had been an excellent princess that had guided them through many years.

Now what would they do? In theory, by tradition, the next princess would be the girl that Wendy would have selected to rule the kingdom of the orphanage next to her. Wendy had never gotten the chance to do that, so they still didn't know who to choose.

Finally the wise princess, Meg spoke up, "Well the one who is second to Wendy, is Diana. She is the Duchess after all," her voice was appraising as she looked at Diana in adoration, "Diana, you are strong and all of the other children bow before you. You will make a great princess and will lead us even better than Wendy did!" Meg's adoring face almost cracked under the emotion she was emitting as she looked at the older girl.

Diana looked amused and raised her eyebrows, feeling pretty smug at hearing those words. She had always exuded a power over all the other orphans, and more than happily would have muscled her way into power, had it not been for Wendy's threat of the Stray Dog.

But that threat was over, for as they had learned, Wendy was a liar, nothing else. The children that had disappeared had just run away, that was all it was. There was no Stray Dog; Wendy had made it up.

The legend of Stray Dog no longer held power over Diana.

However, Diana tilted her head back, thinking for a while. She loved ordering the other children around. She loved intimidating them. But even now, with that understanding, there was something that felt wrong here.

Diana said nothing under Meg and Eleanor's gazes, but contemplated to herself. Diana had always been a thinker. She had plotted every strategy she would use to pull pranks on Meg, Amanda, Eleanor and especially Jennifer. She contemplated things whenever she was alone about growing up and leaving this awful place, but also thought about how afraid she was.

Finally, this brought her to something she hadn't thought about. They could come up with all the games they wanted, but it never made a difference. Everything was always the same here, under one tyranny or another. It was either under Hoffman's rule or Wendy's, but everything had always been the same in this wretched place. Diana opened her eyes as she thought about it. And everything would remain the same if _she _came into power. Diana was almost as manipulative, almost as cunning and almost as tyrannical as Wendy, therefore if she became the princess, everything would remain the same for everyone and for herself.

She could order Jennifer be starved and everything would remain the same. She could order Amanda be ignored and everything would be the same, she could order for Nicholas to be abused and everything would be the same.

She, Wendy and Hoffman were all tyrants and Diana could see in that one moment of clarity that she should never become the new princess.

Maybe they needed someone new. Someone who actually would care about her subjects. And Diana had the feeling she knew who would do the job.

Before any other thought came across Diana's mind, she remembered something that happened only last month. Jennifer screaming at Wendy and hitting her, and even scaring the rest of the Aristocrat Club in her rage.

Even Diana admitted that she never comprehended that little girl's anger. That thought confirmed whatever doubts Diana had.

"Jennifer," Diana spoke before she could think, "Jennifer could be our new princess."

For once, Eleanor seemed genuinely surprised, or nearly genuinely surprised. Meg on the other hand was both shocked and appalled.

"Jennifer?" The wise princess demanded, not being able to stop the harsh tone towards her beloved Duchess, "That filthy wretch? She wouldn't be able to do anything! She's inferior to Wendy and especially to you. Why would…..Why would you-?"

Diana, ever the manipulator, even in this rare scene of clarity, placed her hand on Meg's shoulder and said in a sickly sweet tone, "Meg, please calm down." She showed a "tender" smile to the much younger princess, "We still need Eleanor's vote after all." She took a glance to the cold princess sitting across from her.

Eleanor regarded the two calmly. She admitted, she had never even imagined that Diana would turn down becoming the princess of this kingdom, but she had never even fathomed the possibility that Diana would suggest that _Jennifer_, the child in the orphanage with which all the other orphans made into the receiver of all their frustrations and anger should be the next ruler.

Meg humbled herself under Diana's hand and resumed her calm exterior and continued coolly, "Do not think this is any disrespect to you at all, Diana, but Jennifer lacks the," Meg hesitated, as if thinking about the right word, "imagination to come up with new games and to lead us."

Eleanor remained unemotional and her face didn't change at all. She considered everything Meg said. She was right of course. Having Jennifer as the new princess wouldn't nearly be as interesting as having either Wendy or Diana as the princess, but Eleanor knew Diana; knew the older girl more than she'd _like _to know her. She never was motivated to do much of anything since her emotions had frozen long ago, but something very similar to curiosity had perked at Diana's suggestion.

Why would Diana say such a thing?

"Meg," Eleanor spoke suddenly, "Since Jennifer seems to be part of this discussion now, please tell the others to get ready for news of who the new princess will be."

Diana, caught Eleanor's gaze and understood almost immediately that they needed to talk.

Meg's eyes widened behind her glasses in more shock and opened her mouth to protest, but Diana cut her off.

"Meg," Diana cooed, "Please go and alert the rest of the children. Don't tell them who the next princess is but tell them that we're choosing who it will be soon." Diana's voice dripped with such false care that Eleanor nearly felt nauseous and Meg looked like she was going to explode at the words in embarrassment.

Meg blushed and stuttered out, "Y-yes, Diana o-o-of course." She got up, placed her book down and left through the door swiftly, leaving the other two princesses alone.

"So," Diana asked, standing up for once, her right hand placing itself against her hip in her usual arrogant stance, "You wanted to speak with me, Eleanor?" Eleanor looked up slowly at the older girl and gazed into her dangerous green eyes. "Well?" Diana continued haughtily, all fake tenderness gone, "What is it?"

Eleanor remained seated, and controlled her voice as she spoke, "I would like to know the reason for your decision. Why select Jennifer as the new princess?" Eleanor observed Diana very closely. As far as she knew, Diana hated the little nine year old Jennifer. The poor girl, despite having done nothing wrong had earned the hate and spite of all the children, especially Meg, Amanda and Diana.

So why this change of heart on Diana's part?

Diana sneered, her hand remaining at her hip as she glared, "Why trouble yourself, Countess? I don't want the responsibility of all these brats on my hands so I might as well burden filthy Jennifer with them."

Eleanor's face remained the same, but she looked more closely at Diana as she said quietly, "That's not the reason. Why, Diana? You've never been honest about your feelings but you've never lied about your reasons for doing anything. Why?"

Diana looked like she was about to get angry and she seemed to be ready to throw a snide insult at Eleanor, but found herself calming down as she decided there was nothing to gain from snapping at the little girl and though Eleanor annoyed her to no end, she was very perceptive and knew Diana and Meg's patterns.

Diana removed her hand from her hip and crossed both her arms in front of her chest, calming down as she spoke, "Wendy guided us, but it's as though we're in the same place we were when that scumbag, Hoffman was still around." Eleanor watched and listened, considering as Diana still spoke, "When you think about Jennifer, what is she like to you?"

The cold princess thought about it. Diana had a point, as much as it would horrify anyone else. Jennifer was the opposite of both Hoffman and Wendy. Jennifer would care about the other children. She wouldn't punish them needlessly like Hoffman had, or threaten them like Wendy had. Jennifer, while being only two years older than seven year old Eleanor herself was so sweet and forgiving and caring.

She wouldn't terrorize any of the other children. And perhaps Jennifer did possess the strength required to rule. She had sent Wendy away sobbing after all.

"Perhaps you're right," Eleanor said quietly, "And she did defeat Wendy. I suppose that means that by right she had inherited the power anyway."

"Hm." Diana mumbled, without any added comment as she leaned her head towards the window.

When Meg came back, she would be in for an even bigger shock as she would be told by the other two members of the Aristocrat Club that they had outvoted her and that she would be sent down again to tell the rest of the children to welcome their new princess.

Kind and merciful Princess Jennifer.

**Author's Note:**

**Okay, just a very quick, plotless story. Sorry if the characters were OOC. I'm particularly worried about Diana since I'm not sure how she turned out in the decision making scene.**

**Still, I made this because it never really made sense to me why they made Jennifer the new princess towards the end of the game. **

**Hope you liked it.**


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